State of the College Address President Monte E. Perez August 22, 2013
I. Purpose The purpose of the State of the College Address is to reflect on our accomplishments of the last academic year and look forward to the year ahead. It informs the entire college community of our institutional effectiveness. II. Budget For FY 2013-14 LAMC s budget is $26.5M, an increase of 2.8M for the comparable period last year. The increase is due to the passage of Proposition 30, which provides funding for instruction and classes. Approximately 4% funding is available for enrollment growth. There is a 3% Cost of Living Adjustment (1.57 State COLA and 1.43 District adjustment) allocated for faculty for FY 13-14. This is welcome news since faculty have not received salary increases for more than 8 years. III. Enrollment As of August 19, enrollment at LAMC topped 9,000. This fall the college is offering 603 sections up 103% compared to fall 2012. The District s overall head count increased by 2,000 FTES compared to last academic year. In fall 2012 the District offered 9,777 sections serving 124,000 students. This fall, more than 10,000 sections were offered serving 128,215 students. IV. Accreditation In July 2013, LAMC received an action letter from the Accrediting Commission of Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) with 14 recommendations. Eight of the fourteen recommendations were related to research and evaluation, two on collegiality, and four addressing less than major compliance issues. 2
During the summer the Accreditation Steering Committee met to: (1) complete the Actionable Improvement Plans cited in the Self Evaluation Report, (2) obtain the expertise of a professional research and evaluation consultant to analyze what the college must do to complete the Research and Evaluation recommendations, and (3) establish faculty/staff/administrative Research/Evaluation and Collegiality Theme Teams. The three Vice Presidents will be responsible for addressing the recommendations by guiding respective staff, and working closely with members of the Accreditation Steering Committee. A progress report will be submitted to the ACCJC team in February prior to their visit in March, 2014. Our goal is to address all recommendations by June, 2014. V. Academic Affairs Academic Affairs is working hard to ensure there is strong enrollment planning based on data. The new Dean of Institutional Effectiveness is instrumental in providing enrollment data for the purpose of class scheduling and meeting enrollment targets. Academic Affairs established educational partnerships with local high schools and universities. Mission College is interested in entering MOUs with San Fernando, Sylmar and Cesar Chavez Academy high schools to offer concurrent enrollment, particularly in the science field. Mission College offers Calculus and other computer science classes that lead toward computer science and engineering baccalaureate degrees. VI. Student Services Student Services will be extremely busy this year. With the new state mandated Student Success Initiative, Mission College will be funded on performance. The performance measures will be based on whether or not the college has met its target in relationship to Student Education Plans, orientation, and assessment. LAMC s target is to ensure 35% of all students that counselors come in 3
contact with have Student Education Plans. With seven counselors and over 9,000 enrolled, this will be challenging. Student Services will work with the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) program to support a fulltime Outreach Coordinator. This position will be responsible for coordinating, marketing, and student recruitment activities for the entire campus. The Outreach Coordinator will work with feeder high schools to coordinate early assessment, concurrent enrollment, counseling, and intervention. VII. Administrative Services Administrative Services will continue to provide budget support and revenue enhancement activities, specifically in the areas of Health, Fitness and Athletics and Culinary Arts. The Vice President will keep the campus appraised of monthly revenue and expenses to ensure the college stays within its approved budget. VIII. Bond Program The construction program is well on its way. The Media Arts Building is scheduled for completion fall 2014. The Center for Math & Science Building received a national award from the Design Build Institute of America for the most sustainable building in the nation. The next scheduled building project is the Central Plant. IX. Initiatives The college is launching new initiatives. This year Mission College is offering a Cyber Security certificate program co-sponsored by Verizon. This 15-unit program will prepare students to acquire entry level positions in cyber security. Mission College is working with CSUN and UCLA to encourage LAMC transfer students to enter engineering degree programs. The 4
STEM Director and Chair of Mathematics, Computer Science, and Engineering will meet with administrators from CSUN and UCLA to articulate transfer programs. The Achieving the Dream (AtD) initiative is in high gear. With the leadership of faculty members Cindy Luis and Diana Bonilla there will be a number of AtD activities that will accelerate student success. Accelerated classes in English and Mathematics will curtail the time students spend in remedial classes and foster college readiness. Counselors will continue to provide orientation to students as well as develop Student Education Plans as part of the class activities in English and Mathematics. X. Summary This will be an exciting year for Mission College as we break ground on a number of fronts. Our students are true scholars and we will continue to support them through their commitment towards academic excellence. We anticipate an increase in enrollment and will maintain a strong financial position for FY 2014-15. 5